


Musical Chairs

by VampAmber



Series: SPN ABO Bingo: Round One [2]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alpha Dean, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Human, Charlie Bradbury & Dean Winchester Friendship, Charlie Ships It, Complete, First Meetings, Fluff, M/M, One Shot, Pointless, SPN A/B/O Bingo, Scenting, Scents & Smells
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-26
Updated: 2017-07-26
Packaged: 2018-12-07 05:21:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11616753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VampAmber/pseuds/VampAmber
Summary: Dean didn't even want to take this freaking art history class in the first place, but once he gets there he's glad he did, because somebody smells really amazing. Too bad that somebody is also practically impossible to find.Pointless fluff because reasons.





	Musical Chairs

**Author's Note:**

> Here's my next fic for the SPN ABO Bingo challenge. It's fluffy and cute and pointless and I looooooooove it! ^_^
> 
> The square I used with this fic was **College AU** (and dear gods are those things addictive).

“Art History? What the hell do I need to take a freaking art history class for? I’m an engineering major,” Dean complained as he ran behind his friend Charlie. Not only was he stuck taking a stupid art class, but if they didn’t hurry, he was going to be late for the first day of said stupid art class.

“I’m computer sciences and I'm stuck taking it too,” Charlie said over her shoulder. All that LARPing Charlie did was apparently paying off in the athletics department, because Dean was actually having a hard time keeping up.

“Freaking gen ed requirements,” Dean grumbled as he tried desperately to not drop his backpack. The building finally came into view, and Dean spared a quick glance to his watch. Less than a minute before it technically started. Maybe they’d make it. He mentally crossed his fingers and took the stairs two at a time.

Literally the only reason they made it before they were actually late was because the entrance to the lecture hall was on the first floor. And luck was with the two even more, because right near the door were two empty seats, just begging to be filled by almost late slackers such as themselves.

Charlie grabbed a water bottle from her bag after they sat down and took a swig, then handed it over to Dean to do the same. They’d known each other since kindergarten, and had been inseparable ever since, so acts like this were completely normal. Everybody where they grew up had always assumed they would hook up and get married and have a ton of pups, especially after Dean presented as an alpha and Charlie presented as an omega only a month later, but nobody had taken into account that they’d both be gay. But really, they should’ve known better, because it was just one of a billion things the two had in common.

The professor started talking then, going over the syllabus and what to expect in his class, and Dean was following along just fine until the most incredible scent started tickling his nose. It was faint, probably coming from the other side of the room, but he couldn’t focus on the teacher after he first caught it. He took out his notebook and scribbled down _Somebody smells amazing_ on the first sheet, then angled it so where Charlie could see.

He could see Charlie take a few covert sniffs, then she pulled one of the mechanical pencils out of her ponytail and grabbed the notebook. _Can’t smell it, sorry_ she wrote.

_You’re missing out_ , then Dean scribbled after he had the notebook back.

_Trust me, I’m not, because there is a seriously hot brunette in the front row_ she scribbled excitedly.

_Where?_ Dean wrote, looking around.

_Left center, about four chairs in, wearing the green sweater_ Charlie wrote down, before tilting her head in the general direction to help him out further.

He spotted the girl, and while he swung the other way, he had to admit that Charlie sure knew how to pick ‘em. _You gonna try talking to her?_

_Hells yeah, Winchester_ Charlie wrote quickly. _I’m so asking for her number after class_ she wrote next, giving Dean her lady killer smile.

_Good luck_ Dean wrote back, showing it to her quickly before putting the notebook back in his backpack. He mentally crossed his fingers that they hadn’t missed anything important, even though the guy was still going over the syllabus, and tried his hardest to multitask by paying attention and pinpointing the smell at the same time. By the time class was dismissed, he’d not done very good at either.

Dean smiled as Charlie skipped down the stairs, headed straight for her target. He waited for her by the door, hoping that maybe the owner of that heavenly smell would walk past him at some point. No luck for him, but Charlie came back with a smile so wide it looked like it hurt, and the girl's number printed neatly on a sheet of notebook paper beneath her name, Dorothy.

“I think I’m in love,” she sighed as they left. There were other entrances to the room, and since Dean could no longer smell the person, he figured they must’ve used a different one. Charlie gushed about Dorothy all the way to the campus cafeteria, and Dean was glad that his best friend was happy, but still a little disappointed that he’d missed his own chance.

The next day the class met, Dean made sure to show up early, a teasing Charlie in tow. He couldn’t smell the mystery person when he got there, though, so he grabbed two seats right near the middle of the lecture hall. That way it would be easier to figure out where it was coming from. Charlie flagged Dorothy down when she saw her come in, and the girl sat down in the empty seat next to the redhead.

“So, are we still trying to solve the enigma of the tantalizing aroma?” Dorothy asked as she got herself situated. Charlie turned to Dean and mouthed the words ‘English major’ to him and he nodded in response to both of them.

“Maybe you guys are, like, made for each other or something?” Charlie guessed.

“True mates are just a fairy tale,” Dorothy responded with a roll of her eyes, even though she was smiling at Charlie in an adoring way. “Though it is completely true that the more compatible two people are, the more likely they have a scent that is pleasing to the other.”

“You smell really good to me,” Charlie admitted.

“Likewise,” Dorothy said back. She rolled her eyes again when Dean started making gagging noises.

Any further conversation was cut off as the professor started talking and the class begun. Dean was so busy taking notes that he didn’t notice the smell until class was almost over, but at least this time it seemed a little closer. He looked around whenever he could spare a second or two, but he still couldn’t figure out who it was coming from. There were plenty of attractive guys in the room, true, but he wasn’t sure if any of them were where the scent was coming from. At least it was a masculine smell, kind of earthy and woodsy, so hopefully his mystery scent person was a guy.

When class was over, people started pouring out of the room, and Dean lost track of the scent again. He swore under his breath as he gathered together his stuff and followed Charlie and Dorothy to the cafeteria. The three discussed tactics for finding the person Charlie dubbed ‘Scent Guy’ while they ate,but at this point Dean was starting to feel a little hopeless.

“Maybe third time’s the charm?” Charlie reminded him as he picked at the last of his french fries.

“It is a pretty common theme in literature,” Dorothy agreed before finishing off her cookie.

But sadly, Dean’s life wasn’t literature. The next class session, he tried arriving later, but not as late as he had the first time. He could smell Scent Guy, but couldn’t find him (hopefully it was a him). He grabbed a seat where the scent was the strongest, though he definitely got his fair share of strange looks as he was trying to figure out where to sit. But once again, he just could not figure out which person belonged to that scent. It didn't help matters any that the professor crammed as much information as humanly possible into each class session, so Dean had to put at least most of his focus on taking notes at any given second. When class ended, Dean searched even more with both his eyes and his nose, but still nothing. And once again, the scent disappeared rather quickly.

Charlie gave him a hug as he walked over to where she had been sitting with Dorothy, and Charlie’s girlfriend (they’d made it official yesterday, and Charlie had spent half an hour texting him all the details) tried reassuring him that there was still hope, because he had the entire rest of the semester to find the guy.

It went on like this for a few weeks, almost like clockwork, switching between Dean arriving before Scent Guy and trying to find a seat that would give him the best vantage point to search for him (Dean refused to think that Scent Guy was a chick, because the thought was just too depressing), and him arriving after Scent Guy and trying to find a seat where the smell was the strongest. There were a few guys Dean wouldn’t have minded if it turned out to be them, but at this point it was still nothing but guesses. Lunch turned into tactical meetings more often than not, but no viable plans were figured out.

“I’m not being too weird about this, am I?” Dean asked one day. He ate the last few bites of his macaroni and cheese as Charlie and Dorothy both assured him that it wasn’t weird, but ‘adorable’ and ‘romantic’.

“After the exam’s over tomorrow, we can starting working on a new strategy,” Dorothy said. “We’ve been going over romantic tropes in my writing class, maybe one or two of them might help?”

“Or maybe you could try ambushing the guy at one of the entrances?” Charlie said. “Try a different door each class, and just get there really early? You have a half hour between your math class and art history, that should be long enough.”

“Yeah, I’ll try that starting next week,” Dean decided. “If I survive the first exam, that is.” He groaned and put his head in his hands.

“Oh, you’ll do just fine,” Dorothy said as she patted him on the shoulder.

“Yeah, your little brother's not the only genius in the family, Dean,” Charlie agreed. “Now are you going to eat that last chunk of cookie, or can I steal it?” Dean handed it to her and she hummed happily as she chewed.

The anxiety of the exam overwhelmed Dean just enough that he didn’t even think of looking for Scent Guy as the teacher’s assistant handed out the blue test booklets. But it turned out he had had nothing to fear, because all the questions were taken straight from the lectures and the textbook. He breezed through way quicker than he ever would’ve expected, and finished almost twenty minutes before the end of class. As he was gathering his stuff up, he finally noticed the scent, and it was stronger than ever. He glanced up quickly and saw the back of a guy walking past his aisle to turn in his own test. Dean couldn’t help but stare. It HAD to be him!

Dean slowed down his gathering process and kept his gaze on the dark haired guy, and went after him when he saw him heading towards one of the entrances that led to the basement. No wonder Dean could never catch the guy leaving, he came and went through the tunnel system that connected the buildings that the university had to help people avoid bad weather.

He exited less than a minute after what just had to be Scent Guy, and saw him walking off towards the next building over. The smell got stronger the closer he got to the guy, and Dean almost wanted to leap for joy. Instead, he called out “Hey!” The hallway was otherwise empty, so the guy stopped and turned around as Dean jogged over to him.

Up close, the smell was even more amazing than ever, and the guy it belonged to was so attractive that Dean had to stifle a gasp. Messy brown hair, tanned skin, muscular but not overly so, and the most beautiful blue eyes Dean had even seen.

“Yes?” The guy asked, looking confused. But when Dean finally reached him, he could see the guy inhale and his eyes go wide. “You!” He said.

Now it was Dean’s turn to be confused. “Huh?” Crap, was Scent Guy crazy or something?

“You’re the one I’ve been smelling in class, the one who smells so incredible,” the guy explained. “I kept sitting in different places, trying to find you, but I could never figure out who you were.”

Dean laughed, because that was just too hilarious. No wonder he could never find the guy, if he was doing the exact same thing as Dean. Scent Guy blushed and started apologizing, making Dean realize he thought he was laughing at him. “Hey, no, I’m laughing because I was doing the exact same thing,” Dean reassured him.

“Really?” The other guy asked, then started laughing as well. “What a pair we make,” he said when they both finally calmed back down again. “I’m Castiel,” he introduced himself, holding out his hand.

“Dean,” Dean said as he took the offered hand and shook. “You wanna, like, grab a coffee or something?”

“Definitely,” Castiel said, grinning as big as Dean probably was right now. “My next class doesn’t start for another half an hour, so I have plenty of time.”

Ahh, that explained it. “Is that why you always disappeared right after class ended?” Dean asked as they started walking.

“Yes,” Castiel answered. “The building’s on the other side of campus, and I always had to rush to make it on time.”

“Made you impossible to find,” Dean told him, and Castiel smiled again.

“Glad you finally managed to,” Castiel responded, and Dean knew instantly that he was a goner, but he wouldn’t have it any other way. He thanked the scheduling gods as they exited the tunnels, and sent a quick text to Charlie to let her know what happened. And then he had coffee with Castiel, Scent Guy, the most amazing person on the entire planet.


End file.
